3 Things You Must Overcome to Start a Blog

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If you’re like me, you’ve been dreaming and thinking about starting a blog for months, maybe even years.

What’s stopping you?

I’ve found, from my life and reading about other’s experiences, there are three primary things you must overcome to start a blog:

Fear

Time

Money

These three hurdles are what hold us back from progressing with most things in life.

Fear typically stems from not knowing what to write about, fear of people not liking/reading what you write about, fear of writing itself, or just fear of the unknown.

Some of us fear trying something new or we’re fearful of one of the greatest fears of all…failing. What if you don’t succeed? What if you can’t hack it?

I had these same fears and still have them from time-to-time if I’m being honest.

Time, well…I think we all wish we had a little bit more of that.

We make time for what’s important in our lives. I know plenty of people who will sit through a 4-hour sporting event, binge-watch the latest Netflix series, or spend hours scrolling through social media.

I do the same thing. I fall into the same trap.

There’s a time and a place for everything. I love sports. I love the competition and excitement that comes with watching the game. My wife and I have half-a-dozen or more shows we’re currently binge watching.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t do these things. But, if you’re serious about starting an online business, building a brand, and succeeding with your blog, you’ll need to invest time in it.

Time doesn’t grow on trees. This may mean you sacrifice other pleasures to do so.

Money may seem a little silly to some of you if you’ve created a blog because it has very low startup costs.

But, for some $100-200 bucks can be a lot to fork up for hosting, a theme, plugins, tools, etc. As you’ll see, it’s a very small investment in the large scheme of things.

In my opinion, it’s one of the easiest ways to start a business. To be clear, I’m not saying blogging is easy—I’m saying the act of starting it is.

Let’s dig a little deeper into three things you must overcome to start a blog.

What you must overcome to start a blog: Fear

Fear is one of the top one reasons people never start a blog. I get it. I feared the unknown, of thinking about writing on the same topic for years, of people not reading my content, and of failing.

It’s ok to feel this way. Fear is healthy when kept in check. It can actually be the motivation you need to start a blog.

That’s why I want to challenge you to turn your fear into focus.

I want you to focus on your goals, reasons you wanted to start a blog in the first place, focus on putting your fear in check.

Awareness is the first step in overcoming your fear.

Step 1) Identify your fear: write it down so you know what you’re up against.

Step 2) Put these thoughts into perspective.

What do you really have to lose? The worst that can happen is that you fail at blogging. The money and time you’ve invested are wasted. That’s it.

The upside to that pendulum swings way higher! You have so much to gain.

You’ll naturally become a better writer, more introspective, you’ll make new friends and join a community of bloggers who share your same passions.

If your blog doesn’t fail, you’ll have all of this plus a successful blog. Don’t forget the potential to earn an income.

No one wants to think about their blog failing. But think about this for a moment…would you rather try and fail or never try and never know?

“Contrary to conventional wisdom, success depends less on the virtues of talent and drive than it does one’s ability to withstand fear and uncertainty.” Brianna Wiest

It’s worth the risk. YOU control whether your blog fails or not.

It won’t fail if you work hard, stay consistent, and don’t give up. Take action and overcome your fear of starting a blog.

What you must overcome to start a blog: lack of time

Time is a very precious commodity these days.

We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world where every second counts. Add employment, spouses, kids, aging parents, you-name-it to the list and there’s hardly any time to think or even breath.

I get it…I work full-time, I’m married, and have two kids. I struggled with finding time to start my blog.

It took me way longer than I had hoped to start, and I still struggle with finding time for writing new content, marketing, coming up with new ideas, etc.

But, I did it and so can you!

Finding time to start a blog can be done. You have to make it a priority over other pleasure in your life.

My challenge to you is to turn your lack of time excuse into a launch of tenacity!

Start by evaluating what’s important. We all make time for things that are important to us. For me, it’s my faith, family, and my work (i.e. blog) in that order.

For you, it may be different. But, you need to figure out what’s important and if starting a blog is in your top 3-4 priorities, then you’ll make time for it.

How will you make time? Start by identifying your most productive time.

My most productive time is in the mornings. I get up early and work. I do this for a couple of reasons:

My family is still in bed so I’m not sacrificing time with them

I’ve had time to rest and my mind is focused and ready to start the day.

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When is your most productive time?

If you’re unsure, figure it out. Try working in the mornings, late at night, or mid-afternoon. Think about when your creative juices flow.

Next, identify your time wasters. You can easily cut some time out of your binge-watching time or social media time.

Downtime is important. There’s a time and place for it. I realize downtime is a very coveted time for some of us because if I don’t watch the next episode of Game of Thrones, I won’t be able to sleep!

Do you really need to watch 3 episodes back-to-back?

What happens when your manager, at your 9-5, gives you a project with a tight deadline and it requires you to work from home? Do you say, “nah…I’ll do it later. Let’s catch up on The Office first!” (Bad example because I may choose The Office, but I digress)

Most of you would probably drop everything and knock it out. Why? Because you want to look good? Exceed expectations? Not be the bottleneck that holds up a launch?

If you would do this for your 9-5, then why wouldn’t you treat your side hustle, your business, something that is YOURS the same way?

Plan and organize your time so that it’s productive and you’re putting it to good use.

Don’t just surf google conceptualizing the entire time—get some work done. I’m very guilty of this. I like to think about what I’ll do…a lot. So much that I won’t actually do it. Don’t be like me!

Lastly, one of the hardest things to do, for some people, is to learn to say, “no”. It’s ok to say no.

Say it with me right now…”NO”. It wasn’t hard, was it?

Don’t over commit yourself and that will help you ensure you have enough time for the truly important things in your life.

If your blog, your business, your brand is important, make it a priority.

What you must overcome to start a blog: lack of money

You mean you don’t have a money tree growing in your backyard? Over 75% of the population lives paycheck to paycheck.

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Welcome! I’m glad you’re here.

Helping others Learn to Earn is my passion. I love all things digital marketing and look forward to being a resource for your blog.

Whether you're brand new or have been at it for a while, we’ll provide you with relevant, in-depth content, including video tutorials (coming soon), that will help give your blog the best chance to succeed online.